the euro plummeted to a ten-year record low against the yen briefly. concerns over credit uncertainty are spreading. a flight to safety to the japanese currency is our headline this hour. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." joining me with the details is ai uchida from our business desk. >> the euro foal a ten-year low against the yen dipping to the upper 100 yen level. euro/yen continues to hover at those levels this tuesday morning. investors sold the single european currency taking their cue from news that debt strapped greece will not be able to meet its deficit reduct whereon target this year. the euro is currently trading at 101.06 to 11 yen and against the greenback, it is trading at 1.3192 to 3195. your dollar is trading around an 8 1/2-month low. meanwhile, share prices also

took a beating in europe and the u.s. they fell about 2.3% in frankfurt. nearly 1.9% in paris and 1% in london. in new york, the dow jones industrial average fell 258 points, or 2.4% to 10,655. market players say growing concerns over the european credit problems are dampening investors' appetite for risk. now let's get a check on tokyo stock markets. the dow has dropped over 2% for the second day in a row. it's now at the lowest level since september of last year. market players have been concerned about the weaker euro zone economies, specifically greece. for more, we cross over to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. the concerns over greece are holding a grip over markets. how are markets reacting this tuesday morning here in japan? >> very good morning to you, ai. come big moves there in stocks, currencies and gold. i'll come to that in a second. let's go to the opening levels

here for the nikkei and the topix this tuesday morning. you can see the nikkei down over 100 points. the topix down over 10 points. global markets continue to be gripped by euro zone issues. eu officials and leaders and also central bank officials about them getting to grips with the sovereign debt problems. this is actually despite a rise that we saw in construction and manufacturing in the u.s. with the institute of supply management number coming out at 51.6 compared to 50.6 a month before. now that's a survey that combines new orders, production, employment and inventory. so a bit of an expansion there as well. focus is going to be on the jobs numbers coming out on friday as well. let's shift straight into currencies and you can see there the levels as you mentioned there. currently the euro/yen around the lower 101 levels. it actually dipped below 101 at one point and that's quite a move if you consider that back

in april, ai, the euro/yen was trading around 123. and now it's at these levels. so that tells you the market's steady loss of confidence in the euro zone debt issues. now alongside the ism data there was also the release of u.s. auto sales for september. and again, it showed the likes of toyota and honda faltering. toyota showing a loss of sales around 17% in september and honda around 8%. and also we want to keep an eye out for commodity related stocks. we did see quite a move there in opposing directions in the sense that wti crude prices fell around 3.5%. and gold jumping around 2.5% on safe haven plays there. investors shifting some of their money into safer assets such as gold. and the yen as you mentioned there. but for now, the nikkei md the topix trading considerably lower. back to you. >> thanks, ramin mellegard, from

the tokyo stock exchange and the nikkei currently at 8403. financial markets around the world have been swayed by concerns over europe's debt problems. but the region has yet to come up with plans to put an end to the turmoil. our reporter emily wang interviewed the governor of france's central bank. >> thank you for your time, governor. wonderful to meet you. >> pleasure to be with you. thank you for inviting me. >> sovereign debt issues in europe have been a prolonged concern for financial markets worldwide. the greek debt crisis in may of 2010 seems to have worsened, despite efforts made by european authorities. why do you think this is? >> we know now that the beginning we were too optimistic in setting up a program for 18 months. we know now and we agree with the imf that three years is a more realistic period. it is the standard period for imf programs.

and i do believe that it is absolutely possible to have greece retain full fiscal sustainability and strongly increase its stablitiness over the course of three years but they have to stick to our greek targets. ? >> economists are pointing to the possibility of a default in greece. what do you think are the chances of this? >> i think that we have to stick to the decisions of the 21st of july. it is nobody's interest to see a default of greece. it's not their own interest that would suffer enormously from that. it is not the interest of the rest of the euro to have a default. for the part of the fsf it will be done -- finished in a few days, and that means that for

several years, greece will be able to be financed by imf and eu programs and not by the market. so that gives them the time to do the job, restore their fiscal sustainability, restore the competitiveness. now it's up to them to do it and avoid what i would consider would be a catastrophe for the greek themselves. >> one key concern is the risk contagion of debt problems to larger european economies. discussion is under way on how the european financial stability facility could be expanded further, including ways to leverage existing funds. some critics say it could lead to higher liabilities for bigger economies such as france and germany. but governor noyer says he supports such measures. >> already it is a very strong firepower and for what is needed, i think it's already very, very powerful. but i, myself, in favor of all

the means that could be found out to maximize its impact and provide some leverage if possible. but that remains to be seen by the governments themselves. >> in the meantime, market sentiment could continue to be affected by events in europe. noyer says the political process may take time, but that progress is being made. >> i think in all countries the political process is longer than what the markets would love to have. we have seen also that even in the united states with a federal system and a federal government, it could take a long period of time before the democratic political process would be finished and it's not yet finished as we know. so it's just normal. we have to go through that, but what is important is that since the beginning of the crisis,

europe has always been able to deliver very bold decisions. one of the founders of europe in the 1950s, at the beginning of the 1950s, a french man said that europe will grow through the crisis and their answers that europe would be able to give to the crisis. and i think it's exactly one of these as we have known many in the past that, of course, crisis is never happy event, but it enables countries, as you say, to come closer together and to find common answers and to make progress. >> and now let's get your recap of the latest market figures.

>> that is all from me in business. catherine, back to you. >> thanks very much, ai. the japanese government says nine north korean defectors are being transferred to south korea on tuesday. they were found in mid-september in a small wooden boat off the coast of wajima city in ishikawa prefecture in the sea of japan. the group of men, women and children has been in an immigration facility in nagasaki prefecture while the justice ministry established their identities. during the investigation, the defectors said they were fishermen and women working for the north korean military to raise funds. they said that they hoped to live in south korea. japanese officials have been talking to the south korean government regarding the

relocation of the defectors. japan believes their life and liberty would be in jeopardy if they are deported back to the north. a cargo ship has run aground off northern taiwan amid high waves caused by typhoon nogai. four crew members are dead and six are missing. taiwan's coast guard administration said on monday the vessel got stuck off the harbor in the morning. the ship split into two. of the 21 crew members on board, 10 were thrown into the sea leaving four dead and six others missing. their nationalities are not yet known. the craft was registered in panama. it left kelong harbor for china on sunday as the typhoon passed over the south china sea. the administration said it will continue searching for the missing and interview the survivors to investigate the accident. a group of militants assaulted three mining firms on the southern philippine island

of mindenao on monday. japanese workers at a plant near one of the sites have all been confirmed safe. according to the japanese embassy in manila, about 50 armed rebels raided and occupied a nickel mining company for several hours in the province of surigao del norte. in a neighboring compound, 65 japanese employees were constructing a smelting plant for a subsidiary of sumimoto the subsidiary of the japanese company says the rebels set fire to cranes and other constructio equipment. it also says they took several personal computers when they left the site and denounced the locally owned mining firm for disrupting the environment. armed insurgents also attacked two other mines about three kilometers away but there were no reported injuries. the new people's army, the military arm of the communist party is very active in eastern mindenao island.

"newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan'efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." the japanese government says it will check radiation levels in five municipalities outside the 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. the decision follows a move last friday to lift an evacuation advisory for those areas. they are located mainly in the ring between 20 and 30 kilometers from the plant. many of the residents have not returned home as the decontamination process is not complete. a government nuclear accident task force will conduct studies on the environment in the

municipalities at the request of local officials. the task force will use a device on board a vehicle to measure radiation levels on the roads. unmanned helicopters will be used in hilly places where vehicles cannot enter. it will also examine the density of radioactive substances in wells and springs at 4,000 spots, in streams, rivers and reservoirs in 19 places. the government says it will publicize the degree of decreasing radiation levels as the decontamination process continues. politicians in tokyo are trying to cuthe ties linking crime syndicates and businesses. a new bylaw targeting the yakuza took effect on october 1st. prohibits companies from helping gangsters earn money. they are also not allowed to pay criminal organizations to make their trouble goes away. the tokyo ordinance is the latest in a string of laws

across japan aimed at gangs. today we'll look at the root of the problem and examine whether this type of legal action is the solution. >> reporter: people in japan rally against organized crime. the anti-gang sentiment in this country is on the rise. more citizens are vowing to stop the far-reaching syndicates known as the yakuza. >> translator: i declare that our community will eliminate crime groups. >> reporter: their elected representatives are behind them. >> translator: i need to talk with the branch manager face-to-face. >> reporter: tokyo officials are trying to help companies understand the capital's new anti-gang bylaw. >> translator: be rational. that's all i ask. >> reporter: they are teaching employees how the ordinance works and the consequences of not following it.

>> translator: it's important to reject all demands by gangsters however trivial they are. >> reporter: the bylaw prohibits private businesses from helping crime groups turn a profit. authorities will issue warnings to companies that assist gangsters in any way, including paying for protection or helping resolve conflicts. serious violators will be identified in public. this type of bylaw is already in effect in other parts of japan. in one case, authorities warned a lumber business after it knowingly did interior decoration on the office of a crime group. in another, they advised the business against letting local gangsters use a parking space for free. then there's the case of the cemetery operator. authorities zeroed in on him for entrusting the management of his business to a company run by the head of a crime organization.

finding links between businesses and yakuza might be the easy part. severing the ties will be much more difficult. this tokyo bar manager says he pays gangsters to act as bouncers. >> translator: i won't disclose the amount, but i'm paying them every month. i have a lot of trouble at my place. for example, fights or quarrels between customers and that can hurt my business. i need their help to keep my bar running. >> translator: will you stop paying them immediately? >> translator: it will be rather difficult. >> nhk world's senior reporter koji nishigaki covers the japan underworld for us. >> why are authorities increasing their efforts to eliminate crime groups in japan? >> police believe now is the best time to tackle gangsters. the large crime syndicate in the

country based in western japan. this is the emblem of the clan. the clan controlled 44% of all gangsters in the country. it has 34,900 members. and it's getting stronger. the head of the national police agency takaharo ando is telling his officers to target them. >> we are going to use every possible law to stop the gangsters. >> the current head of the yamaguchi got out of jail in april. police arrested the yamaguchi number two and three figures while he was in prison. they also launched a campaign to expel gangsters from the world of japan's national sport. they found out they were going to the matches.

police believe he is re-organizing his clan to launch counterattacks on the police. >> so what is the aim of tokyo's anti-gangster ordinance? >> it's designed to cut off funding for organized crime groups. japanese gangsters became powerful and notorious in the 1980s. they profited from this country's real estate bubble. at the peak of the bubble economy, financial institutions belonging to major bank groups paid one crime syndicate leader funds exceeding $1 billion. the gangster also tried his hand at speculative markets. recently, one of the best known tv personalities in japan retired after his ties with the head of a gang were exposed. the relationship started when the gangster helped the authorities deal with hard-line,

right-wing political group. now mobsters are trying to figure out what kind of impact the ordinance will have on their activities. >> translator: i'd be lying if i said we won't be affected. but businesses such as real estate agents, money lenders and entertainment establishments cannot survive without our help. it won't be easy for them to sever ties with us. >> so how hard will it be to uproot them from japanese society? >> unlike italy, hong kong and south cracker it's not illegal to become to a crime syndicate in japan. it's been like that for decades. some mobsters work for authorities during the years that followed the end of world war ii. up until recently, many crime groups in the region put up signs bearing the names on their buildings. they didn't bother to disguise

themselves. the japanese government introduced an anti-organized crime law 20 years ago after realizing more gangsters were involved in civil affairs. the law limits the activities of organizations where many members have criminal records. it also makes it possible for gang leaders to be liable for any damage or harm they cause citizens. japan's prolonged economic downturn has caused the ranks of some criminal groups to dwindle. but still, the crime syndicates are definitely not on the edge of extinction. what is most important today, police say it's that citizens turn their backs on the gangsters and create a society where they have no role to play as yakuza. >> koji nishigaki reporting for

us, thanks. so what exactly is the extent of the yakuza? nearly 80,000 people are members of the criminal organization. at koji mentioned, the biggest group, the yamaguchi has about 35,000 members. every year, police arrest more than 20,000 gangsters. they charge them with crimes such as extortion, fraud and drug trafficking. and welcome back to your weather update. let's get a look at a tropical storm system that is moving through the south china sea. you can see the clouds here starting to gather over hainan island. and this will be tropical storm nalgae showing signs of weakening, but it is taking its time, working its way across the south china sea. and it looks like it's still going to be a few more days before it makes landfall which then it is expected to weaken. until then, we'll be talking about strong winds for the area.

you can see hainan island is largely covered by the tropical storm force winds and then that will start spreading into parts of central vietnam as well as southern china. in terms of rainfall, there is going to be still a lot more rainfall to contend with. this is the 48-hour forecast. and you can see really things don't dry out, especially for areas like hainan island, southern areas of china, too. and then in towards the northern areas of vietnam will all continue to look at plenty of rainfall over the next few days in hainan island in particular will be hard hit. but there's plenty of moisture in the area, too. the philippines will ton see showers as will a lot of the indochina peninsula. areas like taiwan and the southern islands of japan have been experiencing heavy falls. and that is looking to continue again today. now to the north of that, we've got high pressure dominating much of japan and all the way in towards northern china. largely dry. however, for japan, we'll see showers coming on in from the south and things will be looking a little bit wetter into the

afternoon. mostly evening hours. and then it will look a lot wetter across the country on wednesday. for today's highs, 21 expected in tokyo. and 20 degrees in seoul. and then looking at 22 degrees for shanghai. head over toward the americas. lots of clouds moving into the western end of north america. there will be plenty of precipitation already impacting the coastline. that will spread further into the intermountain west. a lot of cold air coming in. we'll see chances of snow for those upper elevations. now towards the east, looking a little drier but still some moisture coming into the new england states and parts of nova scotia. so some more rain for you here. tuesday's highs, 19 for both new york and d.c. quite mild. 28 degrees in atlanta. expecting 31 for miami. so still hot for you here. and over towards europe, still looking largely fine and clear for a lot of continental europe. those clouds remain well to the

north but plenty of activity here. especially across the scandinavian peninsula tonight. rainfall moving through norway, sweden, even into finland. the baltic region looking at a few showers that will then continue on through western russia. as for the british isles, they'll continue to see rain as will ireland. winds remain strong for this area, too as we have a well developed low coming in. and this cold front is starting to bring in cooler air. we'll see temperatures falling back to more seasonal averages. london's high on tuesday expecting 19 degrees. that's a significant drop from monday when it was in the mid-20s. paris, too, both start looking cooler at 22. and the cooler air will start impacting the rest of continental europe as well. that's a look at your weather for now. and here is your three-day outlook.

on the new york foreign exchange on monday, the euro fell to a ten-year low against the yen dipping to the 100 -- upper 100 yen level. euro/yen continues to hover at those levels here in tokyo this tuesday morning. investors sold the single european currency taking their cue from news that debt-strapped greece will not be able to meet its deficit reduction target this year. the euro is currently at 101.11 to 16 yen against the greenback it's now at 1.3193 dollars. meanwhile, share prices took a beating in europe and the u.s.

they fell 2.3% in frankfurt. 1.9% in paris. and 1% in london. in new york, the dow jones industrial average fell 258 points, or 2.4%, to 10,655. market players say growing concerns over the european credit problems are dampening investors' appetite for risk. the first images taken by the world's largest telescope were unveiled on monday. the radio telescope observatory was built on a chilean desert 5,000 meters above sea level at a cost of more than $1.5 billion. it's a multinational project involving japan, the united states and european countries. eventually 66 antenna dishes will be linked to make up the radio telescope. each dish measures about ten meters in diameter. alma began operating after 19 of its an ten as were completed

this week. it captured images of a universe some 70 million light years away from earth. the pictures show gas and dust which cannot easily be observed by optical telescopes. alma can also detect organic compounds in outerspace, including amino acids. >> translator: i hope the alma telescope will help us solve the mystery of what space is made of and how matter evolves into life. >> some impressive images there. that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.